stevenpiziks | Germany: Neuschwanstein

July 20, 2011 (Wednesday)

In the early morning hours we boarded a tour bus and started a three-day trip to Munich. I was looking forward to this—I don’t know Munich at all and wanted to see this part of the country.

Our first stop was actually along the way at Neuschwanstein. This is the huge fairy-tale castle on top of a mountain, the one that everyone thinks of when you say “German castle.” It was started in 1869 by King Ludwig II, who was much-hated at the time, partly because all the building of elaborate castles was draining the treasury. Eventually a plot to depose him was hatched. Doctors declared him insane and unfit to rule. Attempts were made to arrest him, and he snuck away with help. His body was found floating in Swan Lake the next evening, despite the fact that he was a strong swimmer. Neuschwanstein was never finished, and Ludwig himself only lived there a few weeks. Only 17 rooms were actually completed. A few weeks after his death, the local parliament said, “We have to make back some money from this disaster,” and they opened the castle to tourism. Now it’s Bavaria’s biggest money-maker, and Ludwig is highly revered. Go figure.

To get to the castle, you can hire a horse-drawn carriage or hike. Guess which we did?

The weather was cool and slightly rainy, and we hiked all the way up, accompanied by a steady stream of other tourists. At the top, we learned that the tour we were supposed to join wouldn’t start for 45 minutes. KL fretted. Should we allow the students to go up to the high bridge which overlooks the castle or make them wait down here?

“I didn’t come all the way to Germany to stand around and look at a castle wall,” I announced. “I’m going up to the bridge, and any students who want to come with me may come along.” And I left.

Marienbrücke (Maria’s Bridge) spans a gorge some distance behind and above NSS castle, and Ludwig had the bridge built for the sole purpose of being able to enjoy the view of the castle. However, it did involve yet more uphill hiking. Oi! All of us (and yes, all the students wanted to come) hoofed it way, way up through forested pathways to the bridge.

The bridge is wood and cable, and if you have vertigo, it’ll hand you a big plate of it. You look down a looooooong way to a narrow firehose of a river that pounds through rocks below. And beyond is the castle, in all its fairy tale splendour.

We enjoyed the view and took a lot of pictures. I went to the other end of the bridge and found a mountain trail that coiled around the side of the cliff. Two other students and I followed it a bit. Signs in German basically said, “Only idiots leave the trail. No, seriously! If you break your legs, don’t come running to us!” But they didn’t say you COULDN’T leave the trail.

And then I found the staircase. It was seriously cool, made of tree roots and stone. I very much wanted to climb it and see where it went. The signs didn’t quite forbid it, after all. But I had students with me and had to set an example, so I forebore.

We hiked back down to the castle proper in plenty of time to join the tour. (Ha!) I liked the inside of the castle very much, and we got to see all 17 finished rooms. I only wish I could have stopped and examined them in more detail. Every bit of wall was painted with a scene or something, and I wanted to work out what they were.

What amazed me was how small the rooms were. We’re taught (by Hollywood) that castles are supposed to have huge rooms you could play soccer in, but Ludwig’s bedroom really wasn’t that much bigger than mine, and I have more closet space (probably more clothes, too). Yeah, he had an actual toilet and a cold water tap in his room, but I have hot water on demand and a shower. Shows you how much luxury we live in compared to even the wealthiest king back then, you know?

After the tour we trundled down to the bottom of the hill. That was a trip! Some of the students found a shortcut and asked me to translate the signs. I said it definitely a shortcut and was probably steeper. They decided to take it, and I followed. Hoooo! Going down was almost harder than going up! Our shins were burning by the time we reached bottom, and we were HUNGRY! I had sandwiches in my backpack, but I really wanted something hot. I paid four Euros for a hot dog and it the best hot dog I ever ate.

Also along the way to Munich we stopped at a small town and took a boat ride around the Bodensee. Once again we were early and we had some free time. A bunch of us descended on a coffee house, and the proprietor was the only one working right then. She zipped around bringing coffee, tea, and cake for us.

The boat ride was tranquil and pretty (and thankfully dry). Then it was supper at a Bavarian restaurant, and we were dropped off at the youth hostel. There was the Reading of the Rules (900 Euro fine for smoking or drinking) and the handing out of keys. And then bed.

I actually got little sleep. I was the only adult male on the trip, so I had to supervise all 25 males. Yeesh.